This invention relates to edge guards such as those which are applied to the trailing edges of swinging closures in automotive vehicles. These products are referred to in the automotive industry as edge guards or door edge guards.
Various types of edge guards are disclosed in many of applicant's issued U.S. patents as well as certain of his pending U.S. patent applications. By way of example reference is made to the following issued patents of applicant relating to insulated metal edge guards.
______________________________________ 4,259,812 4,338,148 4,379,376 4,316,348 4,365,450 4,379,377 4,334,700 4,377,056 4,387,125 ______________________________________
Insulated metal edge guards pioneered by applicant have been accepted by the automobile industry and recognized as providing a new and improved product over prior edge guards. While applicant's edge guards afford a number of different types of improvements, perhaps the most significant one is the generic feature of essentially eliminating the possibility of galvanic action (i.e. rusting) occurring between metal of the edge guard and the metal of the door or other object onto which the edge guard is installed. This helps the automobile manufacturers achieve their desired objectives of improving the quality, appearance and life of their products.
Now that new car purchasers are keeping their cars longer because of the very high cost of new cars, it is in the automobile manufacturers' interest to provide products which will maintain their appearance longer without unsightly rusting. Not only does this benefit the original owner, but subsequent owners as well because one person's old car may be another person's new one. Applicant's pioneering efforts with insulated door edge guards predate this current trend toward rust prevention.
It should be recognized that a car's door edges are exposed to potential damage at least twice each time the car is occupied and driven, once when the driver gets in and once when he gets out. Hence, door edge guards provide an important protective function, and this is true regardless of the climate conditions in which the car is used. Certainly salt environments are very severe, such as where salt is used to melt road ice and snow, or along the ocean shore lines. Other environments can also contribute toward the tendency to rusting. Even where coal and sand are used, these materials. may have a high salt or acid content which promotes rusting.
In furtherance of enabling the automobile manufacturers to improve both their products and their productivity, applicant is continuing to develop new and useful improvements in edge guards, both in the products per se and in the methods of manufacturing same.
The present invention is directed to a further improvement in an edge guard which provides desired insulative characteristics yet which can be economically fabricated in various configurations and yet can provide new and beneficial appearances and ease of installation.
With the present invention, the use of roll-forming procedures to roll-form metal strips into desired cross sections are not required. Rather the invention in one respect relates to the manufacture of an edge guard by extruding plastic onto a plurality of wires passing through an extruder. The plastic forms a unitary body containing the wires and is formed into a desired cross sectional shape for the edge guard, for example, a U-shaped cross section. In addition to eliminating the use of roll forming procedures, the present invention enables an edge guard to be manufactured which will meet the rigid specifications of automobile companies and with improved productivity.
In prior insulated metal edge guards which are roll-formed into the desired cross sectional shape, it has been necessary to laminate or cast plastic onto metal coils, slit the insulated metal of the coils to desired widths and then roll-form the strips. Where different plastics are involved, not only from the standpoint of the types of plastic materials themselves, but also from the standpoint of colors of the plastics, the manufacturer of an edge guard must inventory a substantial stock of insulated metal in order to meet the demands of automobile companies. With the present invention this is no longer required and hence the invention provides an improved productivity to the ultimate benefit of the consumer. Yet the desired qualities, both decorative and protective, are obtained with an edge guard embodying principles of the invention.
The present application discloses a preferred embodiment of the invention with various specific edge guard embodiments being disclosed. In one embodiment the wires are spaced apart and passed through the extruder as separate longitudinally extending elements. In another embodiment the wires are part of a wire mesh screen. Plastic may be extruded onto the wires selectively to provide various specific cross sections. In some of these cross sections, the wires are completely encapsulated within the cross section; in others a portion is exposed so that when the edge guard is formed into the desired cross sectional shape it presents a decorative appearance. The wires may be of any suitable material, plastic or metal for example, and they provide a structure to the edge guard which in cooperation with the plastic body enables a successful product to be manufactured meeting the required specifications. Neither the plastic by itself nor the wires would be capable of yielding a satisfactory edge guard and it is with the cooperative effect between the two that a successful product results.
The foregoing features, advantages and benefits of the invention, along with additional ones, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at the present time in carrying out the invention.